


Summer Flowers

by qBox



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, How Do I Tag, M/M, Murder Mystery, One-Sided Attraction, Pre-Canon, original characters for plot convenience, slow-build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-06-03 15:48:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6616366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qBox/pseuds/qBox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The missing person's cases begin piling up for the KCPD, when what the tabloids name 'Summer flowers' appear in the frosty grass of Krimson City's parks; groups of multiple previously missing young women, arranged and changed seemingly to appear floral. Joseph and Sebastian find themselves knee-deep in the investigation of a killer that leaves little to no trace on the pedantically clean bodies, while the number of victims in each 'batch' keep decreasing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Countdown

The signals split through the silence of the night, as it had so many times before. Startled out of his dreaming state but still not entirely lost in the situation he grabbed the cellphone, not paying attention to the screen before accepting the call.

"Yes?" He managed to press out, voice hoarse from sleep and its following dehydration. It wasn't necessary to specify the respondent, as those calling in the sleeping hours often know who they're trying to reach. And he too was certain of the caller's identity.

"Joseph", came a rough, familiar voice, a serious tone in the singular word. And yet, something that seemed like suppressed excitement in his following, "He's done it again, the fucker, you want me to pick you up on the way?"

No apologies for waking a man in the middle of the night, of course, but it wasn't necessary. Joseph wasn't even aware that he'd gotten out of the bed before he was standing, fumbling for his glasses at the nightstand.

"Yes", he repeated yet again trying to clear his voice, but the words of agreement were just as unnecessary- the rustles of his blankets shoved aside would be answers enough. "Someone called in?"

"Yeah, a neighbor heard noises and went over, probably missed the guy by a split second. The others are there already readying the scene. The caller said it was three of them."

"Three..?" Joseph repeated with a frown, hastily stepping into his clothes, keeping the phone pressed between his shoulder and ear. The clothes had been left over the back of a chair the evening before thankfully, so he knew where everything was kept.

"Yeah, so it can't be a coincidence, fucker's counting down. How the hell he manages to do all this before all the girls are recorded missing is beyond me though, I think only the Richards girl was. Among the last four, I mean."

"Perhaps he isn't keeping them as long as it would seem necessary", muttered Joseph, trying to tie his tie and button the vest without dropping the phone. He didn't want to put it on speaker knowing how thin the walls in the apartment were. The last thing he needed was someone being awoken from the conversation and coming down to argue crime solving versus beauty sleep. "Is it the same scene again?"

"That's what we'll see I guess. My money's on it, but I have seen just as little as you have, Jo. I'm almost at your place by the way."

Frowning at the nickname Joseph initially only gave him a grunt in response as he headed out towards the bathroom to wash the sleep out of his face, a left handed, unpracticed push to slick his dark hair, evidently shaped by pillows, back. To look presentable, despite his grumbles. The nickname would mostly be used to mock the younger of the two, following an obvious statement or in response to a stupid question.

"Make sure to park lightly, _Seb_ ", he responded but his half-hearted attempt to be equally snarky was unfortunately in vain. He'd used it too often in confiding tones before to turn its meaning around in this situation. "I don't want Hynes waking up and hassling me in the stairs again."

"Don't worry, I'll pull up out of the gravel." He could hear the grin in Sebastian's voice, further clarifying the futility at his attempt. A shiver ran down his neck, his collar suddenly too tight. "Now get your garments and get out, I want to get there before anyone lays their fingers on anything."

Joseph complied, throwing a jacket over his shoulders and stepping into shoes before heading out and locking the door behind himself.

"Taking the stairs?" Sebastian's voice echoed in his ear, amused and low.

"The elevator is broken again" he sighed in response with a shrug, knowing his question would be answered by the hard echo between the walls. "You keep your attention on the road."  
He only got a chuckle in response but he could hear the focus behind it, knowing fully well that he needn’t worry about asking it of him.

"I'll be there in less than a minute", Sebastian finally said and hung up before any response was given, just as Joseph stepped out into the night air. The first breath was both startling and invigorating, sending the cold directly into his lungs and mind, and he blinked the last sand out of his eyes. Frost laid across the gravel of the yard and its nearby plants, and he could hear the sound as he hurried across it towards the street. The silence was deafening, as though all of Krimson was breathing in unison, their minds unconscious until morning. And some unconscious for all eternity, his mind added and he frowned, thoughts circling the girls they'd find, along with the nine they had already brought in earlier.

'Summer flowers in a cold fall', the press had named them. Newspapers screaming headlines to all the curious residents, the case seeming stranger by each day. Women walking in groups rather than daring the streets alone in the evening. Children called indoors despite their age not fitting the image. Summer flowers. Their feet bare, dresses thin and spread out over the ground beneath them. Hair curly and red, forming wildly around their serene faces.

He caught himself staring into the light of his cellphone screen, checking the time, one hand absentmindedly searching for the notebook in the coat pocket. Whatever he had intended to jot down in the book it was interrupted and forgotten as front lights lit up the sidewalk and a car stopped in front of him. Opening the passenger door and sitting down without even a second thought, he fastened the seatbelt and leant back, almost intentionally keeping his eyes off the driver.

"All awake and ready?" grinned Sebastian and nudged at his shoulder. Looking over he could see something akin to morbid excitement shining out of his entire being. No, excitement would not be the right word to use, would it - _intrigue_ would fit better. They had so few leads, and as horrible as it was to find new victims, it at least gave them something new to work with. In that sense, Joseph honestly shared the anticipation with him, knowing they also shared the quiet rage directed towards the murderer.

"All awake and ready", he responded, echoing his questions. "Were you at the bureau already when the call came?"

Sebastian groaned as though he expected to be scolded for the last few days lack of a proper bed to sleep in, an actual break from the investigation, but none came. Joseph wouldn't hassle him about that – not now; he knew the man would have slept just as little had he been in his wife and child's presence. Besides, this gave them the news quicker, and let them see the scene while it still was fresh. It was all positive.

"Yeah", Sebastian eventually admitted as Joseph’s lack of response seemed permanent. "Was looking over the reports again. I still can't believe the area range he's gotten these girls from. Those from Elk River, I understand, but when some are from further… It’s unusual."

Joseph murmured something about a well-travelled murderer, keeping his eyes on the road. The energizing cold outside had been replaced by the dull warmth in the vehicle, and coupled with the darkness and the soothing sound of Sebastian's breathing he felt his body reverting to a resting state. He tried to sit up to clear his head.

"Where are they this time?" he asked, throwing his older partner a glance.

The first five had been found in the city's park, laid out in a circle with their heads placed in the middle. The fallen, greying leaves around them accentuating the colors of their hairs and dresses, their eyes shut but faces tilted upwards to the skies. The four following had been laid out similarly, but near the edge of a cliff in the forest. A park bench and some meters worth of grass had separated them from the fall into the valley below. Less public, but still by a commonly used trail.

The guy clearly wanted to show them off, prove a point, something or the other, the profilers argued. In the same breath they'd remind themselves of the new, less public area and ask each other how that would fit the profile. They were so incredibly even in their opinions on the murderer, and yet in so much disagreement.

"You'll see for yourself", responded Sebastian as he threw the car into park, the lights from the crime scene ahead of them almost blinding in its sudden appearance. "We're here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter! The next one is definitely longer, haha.  
> This is my first attempt at writing fiction in about ten years, and English is not my first language, so please forgive my stumbles...  
> Here's to hoping you'll be intrigued..!


	2. Artwork

Before Joseph even had gotten the belt unlocked the other had already exited the vehicle and he could see his tall shape head towards the lights. Hurrying he got out as well, a knot hardening in his stomach as he approached the tape and the policemen to guarding the scene, a worried sense of anticipation joining that of intrigue.

One would think after several years of this, seeing it would be easier, but while Joseph attempted to refuse letting it show on his face, his insides still tensed up enough to make him feel about to vomit. He had on one of his earlier crime scene, a murder-suicide, thankfully managing to stumble away from the blood-covered room not to contaminate anything, but in the many years since he’d managed to keep it in. The embarrassment of that experience had been enough. At least the ‘summer flower’ scenes were different. There was no blood involved.

Coming up behind Sebastian, he squinted in the strong light to see anything of the scene from behind the tape. The policeman on guard duty was Connelly, his face seeming yet more hollowed tonight. It was likely he'd been one of the first to arrive, having recently begun working part-time night shift. A hushed discussion was held between him, Sebastian and inspector Brown, who'd evidently arrived before they did.

"Ah, Castellanos, you got a hold of Oda too?” Brown asked Sebastian upon Joseph closing in on them. "Good. We need all three of us, the more the merrier right?" His face was definitely not merry, the words bitter, no doubt from viewing the murderer's new master piece. He caught Joseph's eye and they shared a nod.

"So", Joseph cleared his throat. "What do we have this time?"

"Right. What I was about to say..." Brown began with the meticulous pronunciation of one who had already gone over the details to an almost infinite extent. "The victims are three this time, still female, all are embalmed as per the guy's usual routine. They're in the garden here, but the house has been closed up for years. An asbestos case; it's been out of use for at least ten years. The neighbor who called is over by the car", he pointed behind himself, "but it seems he only heard some rustling noises, maybe thought someone was trying to break in."

"And decided to take that in his own hands, no doubt", grumbled Sebastian, not entirely focusing one the conversation, clearly anxious to see the scene for himself. Joseph agreed, eyeing the lit garden before Sebastian opened his mouth again. "Joseph, will you have a talk with the witness-"

"I want to give the scene an eyes over too first", he responded cutting his sentence right off. It felt extremely impolite, so he clarified: "It won't be right if even the witness has and I haven't."

A silent agreement followed as Sebastian lifted the tape and the two of them dodged under it to head over toward the scene. Pictures were being taken, possible proof numbered. In the middle of the overgrown front yard, the girls were laid out.Three, red haired and fair skinned, hands closed on top of their chests. Brightly yellow summer dresses, sheer and spread out over the ground. Single yellow flowers in their hands, lips opened slightly as though they were sleeping, breathing, but no movement of the chest to signal any such warnings. Was it not for the grass trampled by the officers and the hard light brought to let them see the scene, it would have been a perfect work of art. Three yellow petals around a maroon disk, just like the two previous instances. Well, not entirely like it.

"Three girls this time" Sebastian repeated, mumbling to himself and crouching down next to one of them. "He's counting down, the bastard. What is he counting down towards..?"

"Perhaps the last girl is special."

They had had the conversation before; it felt dry, a force of habit. But necessary.

"The last girl could be the ‘real thing’", Joseph continued, pushing the hair out of the eyes from one of the girl with a gloved hand. Indeed, there were the spots of hair dye residue they had gotten used to, spotting the otherwise perfect makeup. Whoever did this embalming chose to do it ahead of dying the hair, the same way he had for the vast majority of the previous victims. It must have been tricky to shift the head around to dye it - previous autopsies had proven they were also killed ahead of the embalming procedures and not killed as a result of it. A drug concoction, they had said. Names that Joseph couldn’t recall, but seemed efficient.

Their murderer had gone far to make them look alike.

"They wouldn’t need to change that one; that or they’re trying to cover up someone of them. Either way it can't still be a flower theme at that point, it's already barely a flower with three petals left."

"Perhaps the profilers will finally come to a conclusion", muttered Sebastian, nodding and scratching his stubble of a beard. Whenever he got too invested into a case, it grew out. _No time to go home and shave_ , Joseph thought, watching him in silence as the wider man turned to look over the surrounding ground. It wasn’t a bad look for his face, though.  Sebastian spoke up again:

"God knows we need more qualified ones. Besides, all we have is their embalming skills to go from, they must be quite skilled from how I understood the coroner. Are we looking through the building?" He added the last part louder and turned to the nearest officer.

"Yes, detective", the woman responded, a concerned stiffness across her face. "Chasson and Ruyle are checking around for non-boarded entrances or exits."

He nodded in return, focus on the trampled grass below him.

"Has any of you guys checked here yet?"

Joseph looked over towards him as he parted some bushes in the distance, slowly following. Instinctively he knew the man had a good lead started, or at least thought so. The officer responded negatively, stating some reasons that Joseph wasn't focusing on. His full attention was turned to the back in front of him, and as Sebastian leaned in among the remaining leaves he reached out and shone the cellphone flashlight down to light it for him, wordlessly.

"Thanks", grumbled the raspy voice and he hummed in response. "There is no grass here, Joseph. Look, just dirt. There might be something here."

Partially doubting that their suspect would have made such a mistake, Sebastian's hope for it influenced him and he moved the light slightly forward to let his partner study the ground. What was there was indeed suddenly in the open and obvious even from his distance - an indentation in the patch of frosty dirt. Their eyes met with a nod and Sebastian sat up, loudly calling the photographer over.

"We have a possible shoe print." He stood again, the knees of his pants whitened and wet with the frost for a moment before it begun melting against the temperature of his body.

It didn’t take long for the print to be saved and noted. The previous physical and visible leads were few, so the indentation was of utmost importance. Especially one so recent.

"Must have jumped", muttered Sebastian, correcting his trench coat over his shoulders. "Heard the witness and ran."

"Speaking of which", Joseph filled in and backed away from the strangely calm tumult, nodding. He had seen enough. There was not much new with this scene that they hadn't gone over on the previous ones. "I'll have a chat with the guy. He must be freezing."

The aging man surrounded by the officers, wrapped in a quilt to stay warm for a while longer, was thin and had he had a straighter back they would have been on eye level with each other. As it was now, his eyes were darting up towards Joseph's face as he approached, and noticing this Joseph tried to soften his facial features. Wouldn't want to stress someone out when they just needed to question them.

The officers introduced him as Carl Willwerth, and Joseph pitied the man to have had to stay outside so long even if he was thankful he did. If the station would have been closer they could have talked in warmth. The car wouldn't be appropriate, too cramped. Perhaps the witness' own house could have worked? They had said it was a neighbor...

Sharp eyes met his as he reached out a hand to shake the witness'. His mind seemed completely clear, despite the circumstances, which was by itself an impressive feat.

"Detective Oda", he introduced himself. "You’re the one who called, correct?"

"Yessir, I did. As I said to the inspector before, I thought that was the right thing to do." Willwerth slowly pushed the quilt off of his shoulders, wrapping it in his arms to straighten his back. He wanted to get these conversations over with and Joseph didn't blame him. It was very late in the night after all.

"May I ask why you were outside at this hour?"

The man shook his head, sighing at his question, implying having already responded to it before, but thankfully decided to go along with it.

“I couldn’t sleep, detective, happens a lot at my age.” A strained grin spread the man’s lips and Joseph nodded in response. “The newspaper usually comes at two in the morning, so, when I heard them take off in the gravel, I headed out to grab it. Read the economy section, fall back asleep. Seemed like a nice plan to me.”

Humming Joseph jotted down _paper delivery 2AM_ in his notes, reminding himself to check who was driving the vehicle this night.

“And when you had fetched the paper?”

“Well, you know. This is a fairly quiet neighborhood.”  Willwerth’s eyes glimmered in the light from the crime scene and nearby vehicles. “I took in some air while I was still out, and as I was about to go in I heard a rustling from that there house. Thought it was my cat, or some kids trying the breaking-and-entering thing, so I headed over to look.”

“Did you manage to see anything?”

“Not much I’m afraid. The…. The girls…” The man’s forehead wrinkled up further as his brow furrowed. “…It was… startling. But detective, I was going over it in my mind you see, and I saw, well, heard, rather, something run towards the side of the house. Right side, towards the forest. That’s when I went right back indoors to call you people.”

_Running at the right side of the house_ , Joseph added to the notes. So far, the page looked barren and unimpressive, especially seeing as Sebastian had already found traces of the latter. At least they had two sources pointing towards it being their guy’s print. After quickly jotting down Willwerth’s memory of finding the scene, Joseph eyed him. The man, despite affected by the cold and somewhat unsettled, likely from the close proximity to the victims, was clear and straightforward. He definitely seemed too awake for sleep.

“Does anyone tend to that house?” Joseph brought himself to ask, glancing over towards the scene, “Or to its gardens… the same question.”

“Doubt it with how overgrown it all is. Nobody lives there, but that should be a given. Not on paper at least. A year or so ago there was some squatters, but they were driven out. ‘s why the doors are boarded shut now, you see.”

“So, nothing happening around the area before?”

“Thankfully, not much.” The man shook his head and Joseph only wrote _squatters last year (asbestos house), not sure if anyone tending to the place,_ to finish the notes. It hadn’t given a lot, but at least they’d have the paper delivery to investigate.

“Then, mr Willwerth”, he said, finishing by adding his name on top, circling the notes that had sprung from the conversation. “Thank you so much for your time. If something comes to mind we will be glad to return again, so please keep in contact if so.”

“No problem, detective. You people try your best to catch this fellow, right?” said the old man in turn, nodding sternly.

“We are doing everything we can. Now, we have taken enough of your time, you’re free to head back indoors.” Joseph gave him a thin smile, hoping he’d look as thankful as he wanted to seem, and bid him farewell as he turned back towards the scene.

Sebastian Castellanos was standing close together with Connelly, deep in a discussion that Joseph couldn’t hear at the distance. Whatever it was about, it seemed to end as the younger man approached, and Sebastian took some steps in his direction, face lighting up, hope for new leads, something else to go on. It died down as quickly as it had risen though, and Joseph swallowed down the heavy guilt trying to rise in his throat. He really had wished he didn’t have to disappoint his partner on this – but it wasn’t his fault, and he knew that.

“He remembers hearing footsteps running towards the bushes we found the indentation in, and also mentioned the newspaper was delivered just before he went outside”, he told them, brief and quick.

Sebastian scratched at the stubble again, something distant in his eyes. The light from the crime scene shaded half his face, outlining his rough, albeit attractive features. _Damn it, stop._ Shaking his head to clear his mind, Joseph forced the intrusive thoughts away again.

“How about the shoe print?” he blurted out, putting focus on anything else. “Could they get a better look at it? It’s all documented?”

“There was a shoe print indeed”, answered Connelly, a grin slowly forming on his lips. “Good old Sebastian is certain that it’s our culprit, Brown didn’t see eye to eye with him on it. Says it could be a gardener of sorts, the frost had laid on it already.”

“Yes, but why would a gardener be jumping around the bushes though?” Sebastian almost spat the words out, clearly having been through the discussions before. “And what kind of gardener leaves footprints but doesn’t tend to the garden? Conveniently recent too. It’s ridiculous. He’s basically _looking_ for sticks to ram into the wheel.” Obviously their conversation had ended on a sour note.

No wonder it had, at this hour of the night, with such a heavy load on everyone’s shoulders. Everyone wanted to end the reign of Krimson City’s most recent known serial killer, but the lack of information made them all agitated.

“How about the print itself though?” he tried to defuse the situation, turning Sebastian’s mind towards the facts rather than his frustration. It seemed to work, the exasperated anger in his face turning into a focused frown.

“They estimate it to be less than a size 5. One would guess that gives us someone with a pretty small build”, he added, looking over towards Joseph who hung onto his every word, scribbling _shoe print at scene size M <5_ into his notes.

“If it’s a recent enough mark, it could be our guy”, Joseph filled in as the man grew silent. Sebastian nodded, trying to have a smoke before they’d get into the car again as Joseph continued, “They should be done with the documentation by now shouldn’t they? The faster the girls are taken back to the bureau and identified, the better…”

“You’re right, you’re right, calm down.” Sebastian inhaled deeply, trying to wake some slumbering part of his brain with all versions of energy available. “You want to come back to the station with me? I know I kind of tore you out of your beauty sleep.”

“That’s… alright”, Joseph said, stiffly. “I could probably keep going for a while. You’re the one I think might need some rest. I’d let you borrow a couch but…” A shrug ran through his shoulders; his apartment definitely was of the smaller kind. His bed currently doubled as bed and couch, he rarely needed to use them separately. “Could roll out a mattress.”

“Or I could get back to Myra, sneak into the bed and startle her awake with cold hands”, the man chuckled, trying to warm his fingers close to the cigarette as if to prove a point. “She’d flip, I think she’d kick me in the face if I’d do that.”

“It’s pretty likely. She definitely packs quite the kick _and_ punch, honestly”, commented Connelly, both trying to momentarily forget the awful sight of the scene a while away from them. “You’d be a dead man come dawn. Come on, just get yourself to bed for a bit. Joseph might make sure you do one way or another, pick a more comfortable one.”

“You should probably sleep some yourself, Connelly”, Joseph raises his eyebrows towards the thin officer and got a guilty laugh in return. A smile over his lips as he continued, “Honestly, I hope you won’t have to stay here for too long.”

“Don’t you worry about me, Jo”, he returned, “I’m seasoned.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly longer chapter this time, and we've seen the third flower scene..!  
> Thank you for swinging by, and I hope you enjoy it so far.  
> Sleepovers, anyone?


	3. Necessity

The noises of running water in the bathroom sink accompanied him as he rolled out the mattress for Sebastian to sleep on. The man had eventually given up and admitted that sleep had been as rare the past few days as Joseph had suspected. A couple of hours would do him good, Joseph had told him. It’d get them both up on their feet better in the morning had they gotten some undisturbed rest ahead of time, and Joseph’s apartment was after all closer than both the bureau and the Castellanos family’s apartment.

A matter of convenience, that’s all. He wrapped the sheets around the mattress and placed pillows and blankets upon it trying to work quickly. A startling heat in the back of his neck as he realized that his clothes probably were in piles across the apartment, he had had no time to clean the past few days. He pushed the mattress away from the bed towards the opposite wall and exhaled deeply, attempting to calm himself while changing out of his clothes into a t-shirt.

 _It’s just for a few hours_ , he told himself. _You’ll both be asleep. Besides, you invited the man, it’s easier this way._ But away from the crime scene and with the beginnings of sleep deprivation eating at his mind, it was harder to steer his focus away.

He made himself wonder if Myra missed her husband, if Lily had asked when her dad would be coming home. The sweet little girl. With those parents he suspected she’d grow up to be the roughest woman he’d ever meet, but for now she was but a toddler – open-mouth smiles and bubbly shrieks of happiness, small feet stumbling through their home.

He laid down, feeling like a child on their first sleepover, or (more correctly) like a teen inviting their crush into their room. Nervous. It sure had been a long time since anyone else stayed the night in his home. They’d both spent nights at the bureau, and he’d slept on Sebastian’s couch in late nights of discussion, but rarely was he the one to invite others to his humble abode.

“I’ll have to borrow the shower properly in the morning, I think”, said Sebastian, entering the room, face still somewhat damp. His eyes ran over the minimalistic room and lingered over Joseph in the bed for a moment. “Thanks for letting me stay over.”

The words were polite, from a man who knew it was a necessity. Joseph nodded and smiled hastily in return, not entirely able to manage the right words, warmth rushing over his skin and looking away while Sebastian put his clothes to the side and sank down on the mattress with a chuckle.

“…still, it’s pretty thin, you’ll have to help me up if I can’t by myself in the morning.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Seb”, Joseph responded, looking over his notes just to focus on anything else. During work days this was honestly much easier to handle. “You’re not that old yet.”

The man had clearly taken good care of his body despite the rough work that was his livelihood, and especially despite his impulsive need to get into trouble. Under the shirts and vests were scars of encounters that had ended violently. Myra would know them all, probably – their positions, shapes, the reason behind each and every one.

“Yeah…” Sebastian let the word hang in the air for a moment before he spoke again. “…There really wasn’t much to find from this time either, huh. Got to say it’s becoming a big headache… Not even leaving any messages apart from the placement of the bodies themselves. It’s easier when they leave messages, I prefer it when they do.”

“When they do, it’s usually because they’re toying with us though”, retorted Joseph, putting his notes down in his lap again. The case was an easier topic to focus on. “This guy doesn’t seem to think much about what our opinion on him is. The papers haven’t caused anything different from the previous scenes, he keeps following whatever idea he’s got going. All we can do is judge from what we have and try our damn best to catch him before he is done.”

A small snicker slipped out between Sebastian’s lips at the rare swear, and he grinned up towards the bed, lips smugly opened more on one side than the other.  _No, stop._

“And what do we have, Jo?”

Joseph couldn’t be sure if the man was messing with him or actually wanted a summary. Either of the two was highly likely to be honest, a combination even more so, and he cleared his throat, deciding to assume he was inquiring for the latter.

“Our guy leaves his victims…” he began, slowly, “…They say it’s presumably in the shape of a Golden Wave especially since the flower is found on them too. The type is not found in any of the florist’s stores around Krimson, they’re mainly roadside flowers anyway but they shouldn’t be growing at this time of year. The post office have no memory of receiving any specific flower gifts around the time of the previous findings, but it might be someone with some type of greenhouse.”

“And we’ve got others checking for greenhouses, just to keep track of how many have any, don’t we…?” Sebastian asked.

“We do”, Joseph confirmed, wetting his lips to keep talking. ”The bodies are arranged in more or less public areas, always out in nature. The victims are all embalmed before being placed, which is why we’ve gone over funeral homes and other to list the capable. All victims are also… changed I suppose you'd call it, in hair and skin-tone to look like one another. Or like someone special to the perpetrator, it’s been assumed. Painted to fit a picture, basically.”

Sebastian nodded, eyes closed, and a furrowed brow making him at least seem deep in thought, and gave him a slight hand movement to carry on.

“They’re all born female, and all previous victims were in their twenties. They’re from varying social classes, and their sole similarity, apart from gender, might be their face shape: rounded jawlines, large eyes.” Joseph pushed up his glasses higher on his nose, flicking through the pages. “No signs of any crimes of sexual nature, and since they’re fully embalmed…” He frowned, going quiet and shaking his head. “Honestly, there’s several things we know, they just haven't given us anything yet.”

No response apart from heavy breaths, and he looked over to Sebastian only to realize the man had fallen asleep sitting against the wall, his head slumped over forwards towards his chest, mouth slightly ajar. The wide shoulders hung as though almost pressed down by exhaustion, lips slightly moving with each inhale.

“Sebastian”, Joseph raised his voice slightly, trying to regain his attention, before understanding that the man already had sunk too far into unconsciousness. Sliding out of the bed he headed over and carefully laid the rugged man down on the mattress, knowing he’d loudly complain about stiffness the entire next day were he to spend the night sitting. His fingertips lingered against his skin just momentarily longer than they should have.

What wouldn’t he give to linger even further though, rub the palms of his hands over the stiff muscles, soothe the aches Sebastian so often complained about? Count the scars, fingertips following their pale shapes, wrapped in--

 _This is dangerous_ , he told himself as he returned to his own bed, turning his back towards his partner’s mattress. _You haven’t slept enough. Your mind is fried._

Again, he reminded himself of Myra, and little Lily. The wedding and the bureau celebrating their happiness. He’d been newly acquainted with the couple at the time, taking over after her as his investigation partner, but was invited never the less. They’d been a beautiful sight to behold…

But perhaps he had looked more intently towards the groom’s side more than he had the bride’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Oh, these pesky feelings..."
> 
> Thanks for swinging by!  
> Don't be afraid to comment if there is anything!


	4. Ages

Sebastian had barely gotten out of the shower as his phone rang in the morning, and he fumbled for it on the basin, holding onto his towels. The number on the screen belonged to the bureau, and he instinctively accepted the call, pressing the phone against his ear.

“Castellanos here.”

“Oh, detective, good to get a hold of you”, Brown said, sounding slightly out of breath as though he had been stressing around for hours. It wasn’t surprising, honestly, the man might have not gotten any rest unlike the two of them. “We’ve identified two of the girls. You might want to come to the station, their family will be coming in.”

“Really? That’s quick- had they sent in a missing person’s report?” Sebastian stumbled into his clothes, a shiver at feeling the cloth against his still damp skin. “…Also, _family_? Singular?” He had to stop himself in his tracks, the realization running through his mind just as Brown confirmed it.

“They are twins, Castellanos.” He sounded tired, but still eager to inform his colleague about the situation. “19-year olds. Evidently they often left the house without telling their parents, heading out to the family lodge, so they hadn’t been reported until late last night. Lisa and Lyssa Dauer. The parents are both-”

“Doctors at Beacon, I know”, Sebastian interrupted rubbing his temples. “I’ve been in contact with the father before, it was a while though. The third girl?” He pulled the undershirt on, letting the shirt hang for now and headed to the kitchen where a cup of black coffee waited for him.

Joseph shot him a questioning glance as he grabbed the cup and sipped from it, ignoring how hot the liquid was and nodded towards him, motioning towards the phone.

“The third girl has similar distinguishing features to a Marisa Jaimez, reported missing from up over at Elk River a few days ago. We haven’t gotten a hold of the family yet”, confessed Brown and a monotone noise in the background sounded like the tapping of fingers against the keys of a keyboard. “Where are you anyway? I called your home phone and your wife said you weren’t there yet.”

“Stayed at Joseph’s”, he grunted, coffee cup against lips, the possible identity of the last girl on his mind. “We’ll have to go visit the family itself if they’re not responding to phone calls.”

Joseph placed a plate of fried potatoes on the table, eggs and a bowl of salad following. A disappointed look must have ran over Sebastian’s face at the lack of bacon, because the younger man shot him a wide grin before sitting down. He’d just have to deal with the food he was given – he had a hunch Joseph rarely made even this much, and that it was possibly only made for Sebastian’s own sake. Besides, there wasn’t a lot of time.

“I…see”, mumbled the inspector, clearly indulged in something else on his own side of the phone, sounding as though his chin was resting in his hand. Focused, but… Sebastian almost laughed, Brown would clearly no longer be paying attention to their conversation.

“We’ll be in within an hour, Brown”, he finished the call with some polite greetings and put the cellphone back into his pocket, treating himself to some of the plates’ contents. Joseph didn’t ask any questions for a while, eyes stuck on his phone. Probably scrolling through news sources to see if the reporters had caught scent of the new scene, Sebastian assumed, the online updates were always thrice as fast.

And, by the increasingly more frustrated frown on his face, it would seem they had indeed reported on the incident.

“What have they done now?” he eventually spoke up, swallowing the food he’d been chewing. It was nice to be treated to breakfast of course, but Joseph didn’t use salt properly in any dishes, at least not nearly as much as he should.

Joseph looked up from his phone, a slight shade of startled surprise sweeping over his face before vanishing, and he turned the screen towards him instead. The headline read _The Gardener strikes again!_ Closely followed by _3 victims found in abandoned yard_ , and Sebastian knew he didn’t have to read more.

“So they’re holding on to making up names, huh”, he sighed and returned to his food as Joseph kept reading through the article. “They’ve had better days.”

“Not only that, but they’re pulling half-truths about the way the crime scene was discovered again. I doubt Willwerth _allegedly_ attempted to follow the guy, he called us up as soon as he could.”

“Yeah, no, he didn’t seem like he would have, you’re right… Anything else?” Sebastian finished the bitter coffee, feeling it wake him in a different way than the cold shower had.

“Something about one of the new girls being related to one of the previous nine. Did Brown mention anything about that to you?” Joseph put the phone down, trying to focus on getting his breakfast down. Upon Sebastian shaking his head, considering letting Brown go over the other news with his partner later on instead, Joseph sighed and rubbed a finger between his eyebrows. “I guess we’ll have to get a hold of Diaz, seeing as he usually keeps track of what the others write… and why.”

“For not working there, he sure knows a lot about them”, Sebastian agreed. Ivan Diaz might have be a little bit of a difficult man to work with at times, very inquisitive and curious, but he still could find out the root of rumors quicker than most officers could. Many refused to question a freelancer, calling them half-assed journalists, which made it a positive note when someone finally did. He was a helpful, albeit nosy man.

Joseph snatched the empty plates away from the table again, and put them under water, washing them off quickly. His movements were determined, as though he was doing it against his liking, and wanted to get it done with quickly. Sebastian didn’t blame him, he’d gotten a machine for a reason. Though Joseph, living on his own like this, probably didn’t need one. He only needed company, Sebastian amused himself by thinking, getting up from the table. He made himself a mental note to try to fix him up with someone soon.

“Thanks, again, Joseph”, he nodded towards him before heading to get the rest of his clothes on, raising voice from the bathroom to keep talking. “Brown said he’s gotten some information on who the new girls might be. Two of them were twins. Barely adults, too.”

“Gods…” Joseph’s voice was much closer to him as he had followed him towards the hall, “They’ve gotten a hold of the family then?” He was already fully dressed - him knocking on the door was what had awoken Sebastian earlier in the morning. Always so well-dressed.

 

When they arrived at the bureau, heading towards their office desks, inspector Brown waved them in to his own from the corridor. The rings under his eyes were deeper than before, and Sebastian felt bad for not having stayed up with him. They could have worked together, so that the man could have rested some… though, to be frank, they’d both have ended up the same way. Several sleepless nights had already been spent that way, what with this case… and not only that, but with all of the other, strangely disconnected, disappearances.

Brown spoke before they could even open their mouths to ask.

“The Dauers have arrived and identified the girls. They’re in interview room C, talking to Jensen for now, she’s trying to console them I bet”, he informed them, his lips strained but not from the subject of the Dauers. “The third has also been found likely to be Marisa Jaimez, more now than when we talked this morning. She has a row of birth marks on the right arm, which fits the physical description. Still no contact with the family. Right now, probably trying to check with her teeth to make sure.”

Joseph seemed to have been holding his breath so as to not interrupt the inspector, listening intently and scribbling down notes in that book of his. Some papers, handed over towards Sebastian, and Brown rubbed the bridge of his nose, adding:

“Marisa Jaimez is, or was, only seventeen. Her family needs to know. She was reported missing from Elk River, but god knows I don’t trust their dates to be correct what with all the recent … happenings up there…” His voice trailed away and Sebastian put a hand on his shoulder, locking eyes with the tired man who seemed to be fighting to stay focused.

“Arnold, you need to rest. We’ll take over your tasks for a while. …You’ve been keeping notes, right?” He handed the papers over to Joseph instead as Brown nodded and turned to get some extra notes. “Hit the couch, pal. We’ll call for you if we find anything.”

Already spread out papers and files on Sebastian’s desk were joined by several more, and with frowns they leaned over them, reading in silence. Three new files next to each other, short notes, photographs, whether they were earlier found in the register. Lyssa Dauer had been taken in a few years back for underage drinking along with aggressive behavior. She’d gotten out scot-free, probably due to the influence of Mr. Dauer, and all left was some jots and notes in their papers.

The frown on Joseph’s face deepened, even echoing on his lips as he picked up his own notes and took a step back, the flicking of papers following. Sebastian shot him a glance, but then returned to reading through the newly gained information. He’d gotten an envelope with the crime scene photographs, as well as pictures with the red hair pushed back to reveal their faces and the dyed roots. He compared it to the IDs inside the envelopes, and sure they certainly were the same girls-

“Sebastian!” came Joseph’s voice, sharp as though he’d already called for his attention a few times. He pressed his notebook down on the table in front of them, pointing towards the rows he’d scribbled down. Sebastian quickly recognized the list of names at the names of the previous nine girls, but that didn’t seem to be the correct realization Joseph had come to. Instead he turned towards the numbers next to their names, the ages of the known victims. _27, 26, X, 24, 23_ were the numbers after the first five girls, and Sebastian frowned. _22, X, 21, 20_ after the four. The ages had come in a disarray as they’d figured out their identities and he had never taken care to remember all of the numbers.

And then the recent – _19, 19_ and _17_.

“They’re not just counting down numbers, Seb”, Joseph mumbled now, rubbing his neck with one hand, shifting through the papers with the other. “They’re becoming younger and younger.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I entirely forgot to update this one--- So sorry!
> 
> There are at least 10 chapters written in total for this one so far, I have no idea what happened.  
> It's an early attempt at writing of mine, but hopefully it'll still pique someone's interest!


	5. Disagreements

Mr. and Mrs. Dauer almost seemed as though all air had left them, seated in the interview room with their heads in their hands, leaning at the table. Neither of them were leaning at the other for support, or reaching out a helpless hand, despite being within reach of each other. Sebastian wasn’t surprised – during times when one would think people would need the most comfort, they often seemed to push it away, reject it. Reject everything.

He sat down, Joseph on his side, and only the scraping of the padded chairs seemed to call on the Dauers’ attention. The husband looked up, the rings of age under his eyes deepened and eyes reddened from tears, and tried to straighten his back.

“What do you need of us, detectives?” He said before they could introduce themselves, voice barely more than a whisper, but an oddly calm one nevertheless. Quickly, Sebastian gave them his and Joseph’s surnames, showed credentials, trying to find what tone to use. Heck, it was always so uncomfortable to converse with the victims and their loved ones, having to tiptoe around the edges to keep the conversation going even at a slow pace. Now, cracking down on a barely voluble and very determined criminal - that was a task he could grip immediately.

“We’re deeply sorry for your loss”, began Joseph before Sebastian could get the right words under control. Exhaling he reminded himself to thank his partner for that, despite knowing he wouldn’t do it. “How long have they been… away from home?”

“Just a couple of days, maybe four”, the man responded, still in a whisper. “They go away so often, and I mean they’re grown women so… Ah, w…were... I mean.” A quick shiver in his tone, a stark contrast to how calm he’d previously attempted to be conveyed. “Me and Anne were both working late shifts, we weren’t really aware that they were gone…”

Sebastian chose to watch as the conversation went on, keeping his mouth shut without interrupting too much, as Joseph went through the regular questions. The years had taught him well and prepared him better for these moments than they had Sebastian, and yet the same years didn’t seem to have affected Joseph as hard as it had him. Perhaps they were right about the need to rest at home more often, he thought, moving eyes away from his lips over towards the male doctor.

Did the girls have anyone who would want to harm them? There might be some, they had some acquaintances that especially their mother didn’t agree with, but her husband doubted they would have hurt them – Joseph wrote down some names anyway. Had they been mentioning anything weird or strange happening to them lately? No, there had been nothing brought up in conversation – but Sebastian doubted they’d actually had time to converse with their daughters much for a while. Guilt was on Mrs. Dauer’s face, the kind every grieving mother who’d spent too little time with their children wore. Had they ever heard of a Marisa Jaimez, or were they acquainted with the previous victims? Both negative.

“Has anyone escaped Beacon Mental lately?” Sebastian asked as the questions seemed to receive more and more tapered responses. Mr. Dauer’s eyes grew wider if only by a fraction, but it might mainly be because of the question. It sure seemed to make Joseph uneasy, the frown turned towards him told him, but he continued. “And by that I mean, has anyone broken out that hasn’t been reported? I know that happens more commonly than they let on. Someone pretty small in size?”

“N-nobody that I know of”, stammered the man in the heavy silence following, eyes moving towards Joseph for safety, tongue running over dry lips. “I don’t really work—I am mainly in the regular...”

This Sebastian knew, of course, but he also knew asking the employees rather than their employers usually gave more honest answers – especially if promised that their names would be hidden, and their testimonies seen as given from anonymous informants. He was just about to do so, and press him for whatever he could, when Joseph stood, politely offering to have someone bring them some coffee and thanked them for their time.

Almost pulled out from interview room C by the man, he felt the heat of increasing anger rushing up his neck – how dared Joseph just interrupt his attempt at questioning the man? It wasn’t as though he was asking just to be an ass, he knew from experience how knowledgeable the doctors at Beacon were. He managed to stay quiet, teeth and fists becoming more clenched during Joseph’s brief conversation with Jensen, who’d waited outside for them. He was so frustratingly unfazed…

“What the hell, Jo, I had something going there…!” he almost barked at him once the door to his office closed behind them. “Both of them work at Beacon, they’d know…!“

“She works at the front desk and at the pharmacy, Sebastian”, interrupted Joseph behind him, “and he tends to minor wounds and colds.”

Sebastian shook his head, leaning against his desk with knuckles whitening. He tried to force his voice into a lower tone and volume, as the room outside his had gone suspiciously quiet – likely in order to listen in on their quarrel – but to his dismay his voice raised again while he spoke.

“They still both _work there_! There’s a fucking mass of criminally insane along with the others kept there, someone could know something - you know they’d be able to tell me if they knew anything if you just hadn’t interrupted-“

“They just lost their _daughters_ , Seb!” Joseph snapped back at his attempt to convince him and Sebastian half-turned towards him as the younger continued, voice sharp, “Even if it was in order to catch whoever did it, now is not the time! If you need to ask anyone, for Christ’s sake pick someone else of the employees there to ask!”

“The heck would I do that for when I’ve got two of them right there!”

The heated silence filled the room as they remained, eyes locked to each other trying to both prove themselves right, until Joseph looked away with an exasperated groan, removing his glasses to clean them – a force of habit when the frustration took a hold of him. Sebastian wouldn’t give up even then; he kept staring him down, took note to the clenched teeth and the red shade across his cheeks, the way he scratched his nails against the insides of his palms.

Joseph had never been good at keeping up an aggressive conversation, and even less at staying as calm and collected as he probably wanted throughout it. He now had become silent, bitterly trying to breathe and calm down. Sebastian attempted to do the same, but it was tough – he still found the situation to be bullshit. Eventually he returned to leaning at the desk.

“Listen, Seb…” began Joseph finally, his steps closing in, voice shaky. “I know what you’d be trying to do… but it’s not a good way about it. They might let their minds run, who knows how much they’d already done that trying to figure things out… Likely give you the wrong information.”

_Again_ , agreed Sebastian’s mind, an array of past mistakes wrapping themselves around his thoughts. Obvious proof against the info he’d gotten, another pulling their statement back. Of course, Joseph had a point. _Damn him_.

“There’s also the chance that they won’t though”, he insisted in turn, but less sternly now. Shoulders sinking as he managed to calm down, he felt Joseph’s hand on one of them, fingers lightly squeezing around the muscle for a fraction of a moment. He turned towards him, thinking to add something cheeky if only to get the final word, but whatever it was he lost it at the sight of his surprise.

Closer than Sebastian expected, and with eyes wide above still flushed cheeks, Joseph clearly hadn’t expected him turning so suddenly, lower lip held loosely between his teeth. A few seconds of uncomfortable eye contact sent tingles across Sebastian’s neck before Joseph finally opened his mouth to speak, breath hanging in the air.

On the desk behind Sebastian, the old cellphone started vibrating, and they both turned towards it. Squeezed into the small display, was a number that made his stomach curl up from homesickness and longing. _Myra_. He hadn’t been with her for days.

“Go ahead, answer”, said Joseph, hurriedly, and stepped over towards the pile of notes, flipping through them. “I’ll check in with the paper delivery. And Diaz, if it goes quickly.”

“Yeah, grill them”, grinned Sebastian in response, feeling his spirits raise, and flipped the phone open next to his ear, leaning at the desk and almost purred, “Hey there, hot lips.”

“Wow, honey.” Her breath was hitched as though she pressed the words out through a laugh, “What kind of greeting is that? Not that I mind.”

Hearing her voice soothed his wounded pride like no compliments could ever, and he felt his grin become a wide smile as Joseph headed over to the side, tapping away at a number from the notes. The screen lit up his glasses in the darkened room, the frown returned to his face.

“I knew it was you, of course”, he answered, and then in a more solemn tone after listening to her wordless breath, “…Sorry that I haven’t checked in with you two. Is everything okay? Lily?”

“Everyone is fine over here, detective.” A grin over her lips, he was sure. Of course she’d understand why this kept him so busy, she’d been in these situations before as well. Along with him, no less. “Lily’s going _daddy, daddy_ whenever she hears cars parking outside though. She misses you. We went into town to get some photos of her to send to relatives today, too, so she’s been all riled up all day… I’d ask her to the phone but I finally managed to get her to nap.”

“I’ll be hurrying home as soon as I can, I promise. Tell her that from me.”

“I will, dear. …Actually, how is it going..? I heard about the new scene.” Myra, ever the detective herself, curious of these cases she couldn’t put her entire being into the way she had before, not while caring for Lily. “They are decreasing in numbers, aren’t they?”

“And ages”, Sebastian agreed, he didn’t really want to discuss it with her. Not because she wouldn’t be a great help, because she would, but…

She asked if they’d checked in with tailors in nearby towns, because those dresses had to come from somewhere after all. But no, he explained that Jensen had been checking through lists on that already, and nobody had made any such orders, nor ones for massive amounts of fabric.

“How about the-“

“Listen, Myra”, he sighed, but smiled to himself at her excitement to help. “We’re doing the best we can, everyone is keeping busy checking all leads we’ve got. You’re great, but you bet we can do pretty good working together over here too.” A laughter, almost sounding apologetic, came as her response, and he continued, “I’ll be keeping the town in check, and you do the same to our home, alright?”

Chuckling on her end, she told him she loved him, and he replied with the same; simple words of parting, but still oh so effective in soothing both his mind and body – and exciting it just as much.

Meanwhile, Joseph had begun his second call – the man sure was efficient when it was necessary. He was leaning over the desk, sitting in the visitor’s chair with his forehead clasped in his free hand, fingers pressed against temples.

“Yes, of course regarding the articl—No, Mr. Diaz, we can’t tell you anything new—“, He must have been interrupted at least a dozen of times by now. In the notebook in front of him gleamed newly used ink with the text _M. Blatt, turns off phone until 3PM_ , followed by a home number.

“Now, we thought we’d ask…“, came Joseph’s voice again, straining to stay as polite as possible, and Sebastian grinned, motioning and mouthing for him to put the freelancer on speaker.

“—and do you think that the location-“

“Hello there, Diaz”, Sebastian broke in, evidently startling the man, who immediately snapped into silence. “What’s this thing about victim relations that the Krimson Post is all livid about?”

It was all a matter of being short and concise.

“Detective Castellanos, nice to hear you join the chat. Yeah, well, I was just about to ask detective Oda, if we could exchange some information.” He was clearly grinning through his speech, a slight tapping in the background as of a pen against wood.

“We’ll have to see about that afterwards”, Sebastian replied, keeping the tone light and sentences short. “Time’s of the essence, you know. What is the relation between the girls and how did they find out?”

An audible sigh and a rustling as though the man corrected his position in an arm chair of creaking leather, but the silence wasn’t adverse.

“The guy who wrote it found out, hell if I know how, a lot of searching I guess? And guesses, mainly. One of the girls, if she is the one they’re guessing on, seems to have been closely acquainted with one in the second batch.” As he said it, Sebastian could see Joseph’s lips curve in distaste. _Batch_ , he mouthed and Sebastian shook his head in return, as Diaz continued. “Very closely acquainted, do you feel me on this, detectives?”

“Are you saying there was a relationship of some sort?” Joseph said, hesitantly, probably hoping not to get caught in one of his word-streams again.

“Definitely, the older of the Dauer girls and Ramirez of the first batch. Say, detectives, have you gotten all names confirmed yet? “

“Thank you for your time, Diaz”, Sebastian said, and Joseph hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, people, here are some more flowers! (Finally, I hear)  
> I have several chapters of this one done but I just keep forgetting to post them. That's pretty bad haha, I'm so sorry.


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